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arXiv:1811.12267 · Applied Physics B

Minimizing rf-induced excess micromotion of a trapped ion with the help of ultracold atoms

Amir Mohammadi, Joschka Wolf, Artjom Krükow, Markus Deiß, Johannes Hecker Denschlag

Published Jun 14, 2019• 9 citations
arXivHTMLPDF
DOI
10.1007/s00340-019-7223-y

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We report on a sensitive method to minimize excess micromotion of an ion in a Paul trap. The ion is placed in an ultracold cloud of neutral Rb atoms in which ionic micromotion induces atomic losses and heating. Micromotion is minimized by applying static electric offset fields such that both loss and heating are minimized. We achieve a compensation on the level of the most precise compensation methods to date. In contrast to these methods, our scheme is applicable even for ions that cannot be optically probed. Furthermore, it avoids the formation of temporary patch charges which are a main issue for the long-term stability of micromotion minimization.
Excess "micromotion" of trapped ions due to the residual radio-frequency (rf) trapping field at their location is often undesirable and is usually carefully minimized. Here, we induce precise amounts of excess micromotion on individual ions by adjusting the local static electric field they experience. Micromotion modulates the coupling of an ion to laser fields, ideally tuning it from its maximum value to zero as the ion is moved away from the trap's rf null. We use tunable micromotion to vary the Rabi frequency of stimulated Raman transitions over two orders of magnitude, and to individually control the rates of resonant fluorescence from three ions under global laser illumination without any changes to the driving light fields. The technique is amenable to situations where addressing individual ions with focused laser beams is challenging, such as tightly packed linear ion strings or two-dimensional ion arrays illuminated from the side.